Legal&general set to take full control of Cala

Legal & General is set to announce an imminent takeover of Scottish housebuilder Cala, giving the insurance giant full control.

It is understood that L&G will pay about £315 million to acquire the 52 per cent of Cala Homes it does not already own, in an announcement that could come this morning.

Sky News reported that the full takeover will involve the insurer buying out its fellow major investor, the property investor Patron Capital, as well as Cala’s management team. The Edinburgh-based housebuilder’s ownership was split between L&G and Patron Capital in 2013, with the management team holding a small stake in the business.

Investment bank Lazard has conducted talks with prospective buyers in the past 18 months, including with the big Chinese property group, Evergrande, but they have up until now come to nothing.

Cala said in January that it was on course for its sixth consecutive year of record profits.